Why Are New Cameras Featuring a USB-C Data Port?

This last week details surrounding the new Nikon Z7, Canon EOS R, Phase One XF IQ4 and Fujifilm XT-3 were released, and they all had one thing in common — a USB-C data port. Add these cameras to the recent releases from Sony, Hasselblad, Panasonic, and Olympus and we have a surefire shift in the way that camera manufacturers are designing their newest cameras. So, why do all these new cameras have a USB-C data port? In a word, speed.

USB 3.1 Type-C cables offer a transfer rate of 10 GBps, which is twice as fast as the transfer speed of USB 3.0 (5 GBps). Keep in mind that to achieve that rate of transfer you’ll need both a camera AND computer that have USB-C data ports. What that means is that if you’re using a new MacBook Pro and a Nikon Z7 (both have a USB-C port) to shoot tethered, your images will transfer lightning fast, theoretically twice as fast as a photographer without a camera and computer featuring USB-C.

If you have a camera with a USB-C data port and a computer with the traditional USB-A port you’ll have the USB 3.0 speed on your transfers. Not optimized, but much faster than if you were using a camera with a USB 2.0 port.

Need to find a cable for your new camera? Visit TetherTools.com and utilize our Search by Camera feature.

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